This book presents a collection of twelve seminal essays by Czech historians on the history of the Czech lands from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, which originally appeared in Czech publications as articles and book chapters and are translated here for the first time in English. The essays address a broad range of topics, including politics, religion, demography, everyday life, crime, and rural and urban society. By bringing to English-speaking readers the rich history and historical writing of the Czech lands through the lens of Czech historians, the book seeks to expand knowledge about the place of these lands in late medieval and early modern Europe, and the rich mosaic and shared history of the peoples and cultures of Europe.
James R. Palmitessa, Ph.D. (1995), New York University, is Associate Professor of History at Western Michigan University. He is the author of Material Culture and Daily Life in the New City of Prague in the Age of Rudolf II (Krems, 1997) and numerous articles and book chapters on society and religion and popular culture.
Contributions by Robert Kalivoda, František Šmahel, Petr Hlaváček, Václav Bůžek, František Kavka and Anna Skýbová, Josef Janáček, Josef Válka, Petr Kreuz, Tomáš Knoz, Jiří Mikulec, Josef Grulich and Hermann Zeitlhofer, and Lenka Bobková.
Preface ... vii
List of Tables ... xi
List of Abbreviations ... xii
Glossary of Place Names ... xiii
Notes on the Text and Translations ... xiv
About the Translators ... xvi
Chronology ... xvii
Map ... xix
Introduction ... 1
1 The Social Outcome of the Hussite Revolution ... 43
Robert Kalivoda (translated by Barbara Day)
2 The Divided Nation ... 63
František Šmahel (translated by Barbara Day)
3 National and Linguistic Disputes in the Bohemian Vicariate of the Observant Franciscans ... 94
Petr Hlaváček (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
4 The Arrival of Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol to Bohemia and His Court ... 120
Václav Bůžek (translated by Barbara Day)
5 The ‘Bohemian Question’ in the Sixteenth Century ... 149
František Kavka and Anna Skýbová (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
6 The First Lady of the Kingdom ... 166
Josef Janáček (translated by Barbara Day)
7 Tolerance or Co-Existence? Relations between Religious Groups from the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries ... 182
Josef Válka (translated by Barbara Day)
8 On a Case of Sexual Abuse and Rape of a Child before a City Court ... 197
Petr Kreuz (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
9 Culture, Politics, and Law in the Lives of Charles of Žerotín the Elder and the Moravian Nobility ... 217
Tomáš Knoz (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
10 The Transformation of Bohemian Religious Brotherhoods in the Early Modern Period ... 248
Jiří Mikulec (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
11 Migration of the South Bohemian Population Before and After the Thirty Years War ... 269
Josef Grulich and Hermann Zeitlhofer (translated by Barbara Day)
12 The Exile ... 300
Lenka Bobková (translated by Christopher Hopkinson)
Select Bibliography ... 329
Index ... 358
English-speaking students and researchers interested in learning about the Czech lands during this period to conduct a research project, pursue comparative studies, or expand their knowledge of European history.